The Human Development Concept

The concept of human development embraces every development issue, including economic growth, social investment, people’s empowerment, provision of basic needs and social safety nets, and political and cultural freedom. There is fairly broad agreement on major aspects of the human development paradigm:

• Development must put people at the center of its concerns
• The purpose of development is to enlarge all human choices, not just income
• The human development paradigm is concerned both with building up human capabilities, through investment in people, and with using those human capabilities fully, through an enabling framework for growth and empowerment
• Human development has four essential pillars: equity, sustainability, production and empowerment
• The human development paradigm defines the ends of development and analyses sensible options for achieving them

Economic growth is essential for human development, but to exploit fully the opportunities for improved well-being that growth offers, it needs to be managed properly. There are four ways to link economic growth with human development:

1. Emphasis on investment in the education, health, and skills of people
2. More equitable distribution of income and assets
3. Well-structured social expenditures by the government
4. Empowerment of people, particularly women

These human development strategies approach every issue in the traditional growth models from the perspective of people, to establish their preeminence in the process of development. The intention is not to denigrate economic growth, but to rediscover its real purpose.

This is what HDF has used as the basic model of implementation in its project areas since its inception in 1997. In addition, HDF has adopted United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UNMDG) as a target to show real progress and results. In some of its project areas, HDF will achieve it MDGs well before the UN target date of 2015.

We need your help in expanding HDF’s project areas. You can help with:

1. Your generous donations
2. Volunteer your time
3. Volunteer your skills
4. Volunteer to hold event in your neighborhoods

(This introduction to the Human Development Concept is adapted from the late Dr. Mahbub ul Haq’s book Reflections on Human Development. We at HDF are immensely indebted to Dr. Mahbub ul Haq and Mrs. Khadija Haq for introducing us to this concept and for their support and guidance. May Allah reward them for their commitment to the welfare of humanity.)